The biggest TV watercooler moments of 2014, from 'True Detective' to Adele Dazeem

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Television in 2014 started plenty of conversations, both good and bad. Looking back, there were some standout watercooler moments from the year that still get talked about today. As part of our year in review, Zap2it highlights the biggest, most discussed moments on TV in 2014. Needless to say, spoilers are ahead.

‘The Good Wife’ goes dark

A lot of people still can’t handle the death of Will Gardner on “The Good Wife.” While “Game of Thrones” might have carved out a niche in killing off characters unexpectedly, it’s not something CBS audiences expected or ever wanted — and yes, everyone’s still mad about it.

Pretty much all of ‘True Detective’

HBO’s “True Detective” was a cultural phenomenon from the get-go. Whether it was the combination of Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, or the show’s great marketing campaign, or just a general interest in dark murder mysteries, America was captivated throughout the show’s eight-week run.

‘Adele Dazeem’

There were plenty of pre-planned big moments at the 86th Academy Awards, from the world’s biggest selfie to Ellen DeGeneres ordering the audience pizza. But it was the most unexpected one that still has people talking to this day: The time John Travolta totally flubbed Idina Menzel’s name and called her “Adele Dazeem.”

‘The Biggest Loser’ surprises itself

Rachel Frederickson won “The Biggest Loser” in 2014, but lost a lot of herself in the process — literally. She dropped from 260 pounds to 105 for the finale, and the jaws that dropped to the floor weren’t because the judges and audiences were impressed. The fact that Frederickson ended up underweight for her 5′ 4″ frame shows a troubling problem the show will hopefully deal with moving forward. “Biggest Loser” isn’t just about the money, after all; it’s about health.

‘Game of Thrones’ Purple Wedding

Though it didn’t reach Red Wedding-levels of hysteria, the death of Joffrey was a huge moment for “Game of Thrones” — and probably the happiest event of the season. Though this was the biggest watercooler moment of Season 4, honorable mentions go to the Red Viper’s untimely demise, the Cersei/Jaime rape controversy and Tyrion’s offing of Tywin.

‘How I Met Your Mother’s’ dark series finale

It turns out “How I Met Your Mother” wasn’t just the story of how Ted Mosby met his children’s mother, but rather how he met their mother, she died and then he went on to court his first love Robin. Audiences were furious that after nine seasons the show killed off the mother, which led the creators to release a much sweeter alternate ending (that they probably should have gone with, if we’re being honest).

‘The Mindy Project’ shares the joy of Diamond Dan

Oh Chris Messina, is there anything you can’t do? “The Mindy Project” showed off its male lead’s talent in the best way possible, and fans still can’t stop talking about Diamond Dan’s strip tease. Words don’t do it justice:

The Olympic ring fail

The Sochi Olympics got off to a humorous start when a malfunction caused one of the electronic snowflakes in the opening ceremony not to fully transform into an Olympic ring. Russia wasn’t afraid to poke fun at the talked about moment, as dancers in the closing ceremony recreated the gaffe.

Ferguson and Eric Garner

On a somber note, the coverage both on TV and online of the crisis in Ferguson and nightly riots was a huge talk talking point of 2014. Subsequently, Eric Garner’s murder and the grand jury decision about his death earned a massive response and caused newscasters like Jon Stewart to get incredibly serious about what these cases say about the state of the United States.

‘Too Many Cooks’

It takes a lot to make a stew, but that’s exactly what Adult Swim managed to do when it dropped its bizarre sitcom parody into its late night lineup. “Too Many Cooks” inspired a bizarre cult following and earned Adult Swim plenty of buzz as it spread like wildfire by word-of-mouth. Smarf 4ever.